Markets Take a Breather

A fiery cup at the speed of light, a cloud of dust, and a mighty “Where goes Silver?” echoes across my front yard as the Sun tries to figure out where Texas is.

This may sound a bit melodramatic, but it mat have been the highlight of the day.

You see, Japan was up 2%, the Shanghai was down almost as much, and this morning the mumbletards of Eurabia are down over one percent.

That doesn’t bode well for ‘Merica , formerly a land of borders and common sense.

The Dow will open down a hundred and something and oil has been kicked back under $33 for West Texas and EU oil is down too.

In fact, if there’s anything good in this morning’s review of the futures, the price of copper (a fine little indicator of war jitters because countries are reloaders, too) is back down.  So all the crap over the weekend about South China this, and new islands that is just filler between Iowa stories.

Say, Ted…

-Not to get off onto a side track so early in our morning cuppa, but did you see this Times of Israel note?  “Now deeply Christian, Cruz’s fervor once wasn’t so obvious.”

And there’s this headline, too: Bible prominent in final Cruz pitches to voters.

So here’s the thing:  I get that Ted is trying to work…I mean appeal to…the religious right.

I must be a little off, though, because Ure’s truly was under the impression that America held to the separation of Church and State.

Here’s the thing:  I don’t have any problem with Ted being a Believer and all, BUT when politics and religion mix, its something to keep an eye on. 

Seems to me the only difference between Christians and Muslims getting mixed into politics is which book they reference. 

I’m sure the Texas senator has done the calculus on this, but  beyond a certain point, there may be more moderates to be gained than Born Agains.  Something to ponder, although it’s really too late.

I just go looking for where the church and state have merged and I come up with places like, oh, you know:  Tehran.

Admittedly, on the other side, a large portion of America’s younger voters have no clue what “core values” are…but can we keep ‘em in separate buildings?

Our Lady of Teflon

Meantime, that 22-emails from the Clinton private server have been deemed too classified to be made public.

No worries for the Teflon Lady, though.  A former Inspector General says there will be no indictment.

You and I are not above the law, you see.  But there are “somes that is”…and it’s what keeps America a bad joke in more mentally-honest countries.

I’m trying to work time into my schedule to write a book which might have a title along the lines of:  Masters or Organization:  Gotti and Clinton.  You compare organizational geniuses you want, I’ll pick my own.

Side bets on a low-level bit of collateral damage will be all she wrote?

Personal Incomes and More Fairytales

Just out:  Personal Income and Expenditures….a nearly incomprehensibly discontinuous report where the math never works out.  Here:  Hot off the press release:

“Personal income increased $42.5 billion, or 0.3 percent, and disposable personal income (DPI) increased $37.8 billion, or 0.3 percent, in December, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Personal consumption expenditures (PCE) decreased $0.7 billion, or less than 0.1 percent. In November, personal income increased $44.3 billion, or 0.3 percent, DPI increased $33.4 billion, or 0.2 percent, and PCE increased $59.4 billion, or 0.5 percent, based on revised estimates.

Real DPI increased 0.4 percent in December, compared with an increase of 0.2 percent in November. Real PCE increased 0.1 percent, compared with an increase of 0.4 percent.

Next, sprinkle some fairy dust:

Proprietors’ income increased $13.4 billion in December, in contrast to a decrease of $1.9 billion in November. Farm proprietors’ income decreased $0.3 billion, the same decrease as in November. Nonfarm proprietors’ income increased $13.8 billion in December, in contrast to a decrease of $1.6 billion in November.

Rental income of persons increased $3.3 billion in December, compared with an increase of $2.7 billion in November. Personal income receipts on assets (personal interest income plus personal dividend income) decreased $8.8 billion, compared with a decrease of $5.4 billion.

Now grab the crack pipe:

Personal saving — DPI less personal outlays — was $753.5 billion in December, compared with $717.8 billion in November. The personal saving rate — personal saving as a percentage of disposable personal income — was 5.5 percent, compared with 5.3 percent.

Why did I say crack pipe?  People tend not to think about “offishul” numbers much.  But lookie here:  America has 320-million people.  And $753.5 billion is a little more than a hamburger for lunch at WhatABurger.

In fact, that’s $2,354.68 in savings for each and every one of 320-million people.  See the problem?  Of, sure, if you make preposterous assumptions about inflation and the value of the principal on the house or car…but even then it’s enough to send us to rehab trying to make sense of the numbers…

This will do jack about the markets this morning, but with the odds increasing that a bottom is in (until it falls out from under us, again) the following events are coming to spice up your week:

Tomorrow:  Car sales and the Gallup Economic Confidence Indicator.  No need to get up early for either one.

Wednesday ADP Employment which is a look-ahead number.

Thursday, Challenger Job cuts – a look-behinder as in “What just ran over us after pulled out from the economic shadows?”

Really, the only day with a statistical damn will be Friday with the Employment Situation, International Trade report and the Baker-Hughes Rig Count.

Pretty much everything else will be missable.

Coming to the Mainstream

Zika virus  has gone viral…sorry, poor choice of words perhaps.

Still, the UK Mirror is asking “Was Zika outbreak caused by release of genetically modified mosquitoes in Brazil?”

I’ve got time slotted this week to model economic impacts…should be interesting – we’ll have that Peoplenomics readers this weekend.

Morning’s like this, I finally get in touch with why people withdraw into Second Life and Candy Crush and immerse themselves in pointless sporting events and 15th man squads or whatever those are…